Washington: ‘Bizarre’ Cluster of Severe Birth Defects Haunts Health Experts

February 17th, 2014

Via: NBC:

A mysterious cluster of severe birth defects in rural Washington state is confounding health experts, who say they can find no cause, even as reports of new cases continue to climb.

Federal and state officials won’t say how many women in a three-county area near Yakima, Wash., have had babies with anencephaly, a heart-breaking condition in which they’re born missing parts of the brain or skull. And they admit they haven’t interviewed any of the women in question, or told the mothers there’s a potentially widespread problem.

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2 Responses to “Washington: ‘Bizarre’ Cluster of Severe Birth Defects Haunts Health Experts”

  1. pookie says:
    February 17, 2014 at 9:27 pm

    Yakima — America’s “most contaminated nuclear site”:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/22/hanford-nuclear-reservation_n_2744974.html

  2. Dennis says:
    February 18, 2014 at 12:39 am

    Pookie’s link got me looking:

    More on Hanford:

    Government concealed radioactive dumping:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_River#Pollution

    Article says three counties. Hanford is located in neighbouring Benton:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Superfund_sites_in_Washington_%28state%29

    Anencephaly risk factors:

    Epilepsy and diabetes medications, folate deficiency (the one that gets the most blame in the media), and chromium, lead, mercury and nickel. Doesn’t list radiation:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anencephaly#Causes

    However, the high incidence of anencephaly in Fallujah was associated with DU exposure.
    http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/nov/13/falluja-children-birth-defects
    http://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/children-of-war/

    Complicating things is the fact that reduced B-vitamin levels compound radiation damage.

    I hope this journalist keeps digging.

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